I. Purpose
This Academic Misconduct Appeal Procedure (“Appeal Procedure”) are established to implement the Anne Arundel Community College (“College”) Board of Trustee’s Academic Integrity Policy (“Policy”).
II. Scope and Applicability
A. This Appeal Procedure applies to Respondents who were found responsible for Academic Misconduct by a Hearing Board in accordance with the Academic Misconduct Hearing Procedure.
B. This Appeal Procedure does not apply to a Respondent who has admitted responsibility for allegations of Academic Misconduct; rather, the Sanction Review process set forth in the Resolving Academic Misconduct Allegations Procedure applies.
C. This Appeal Procedure does not apply to non-academic misconduct or student grievances.
III. Definitions
A. All capitalized terms in this Procedure have the meanings provided in the Policy or the Resolving Academic Misconduct Allegations Procedure.
B. All other capitalized terms in this Procedure have the following meanings:
1. Appeal Decision Form is the Appeal Officer’s determination of whether to affirm, modify, or reverse the Decision and if the Appeal Officer decides that new evidence should be considered, sending the matter for a new Hearing.
2. Appeal Documents include the Petition Form, the Petition Response Form, the Reply Form, and the Appeal Decision Form.
3. Appeal Officer is the individual appointed to decide an appeal of a Decision and/or Sanction(s).
4. Petition Form is the Respondent’s written application to appeal.
5. Petition Response Form is the College Representative’s written answer to the appeal.
6. Reply Form is the Respondent’s written answer to the information in the Petition Response Form.
7. VPL is the Provost/Vice President of Learning.
IV. Petition
A. The Respondent may appeal the Decision by submitting a Petition Form to the Coordinator or designee and the College Representative within five (5) Business Days of the date the Decision was sent to the Respondent.
B. If the Petition Form is not received by the Deadline, the Decision will become final and will not be subject to review, unless good cause is shown.
C. Grounds for Appeal
1. Dissatisfaction with the Decision and/or Disciplinary Sanctions is not a valid basis for appeal.
2. The grounds for appeal are limited to the following:
a. New or significant information that was not reasonably available at the time of the original Hearing that would have resulted in a different Decision and/or Disciplinary Sanction(s) (“Discovery of New Evidence”);
b. Substantive deviations from the Policy and/or Procedures used to investigate and decide the allegations in the Notice that would have resulted in a different Decision and/or Disciplinary Sanction(s);
c. Insufficiency of evidence that did not meet the Preponderance of the Evidence burden of proof; and/or
d. Disproportionate Disciplinary Sanction(s).
D. The appeal is an “on-the-record” appeal, which means that only the arguments presented in the Appeal Documents and the information and evidence presented during the Hearing will be considered, unless appealed on the ground of Discovery of New Evidence.
E. Petition Form
1. The Respondent’s Petition Form must include a concise and complete written statement, stating the ground(s) for Petition, the evidence presented during the Hearing that supports the appeal, the reasons for the appeal, and the Respondent’s desired outcome.
2. The Respondent may not include any information or evidence that was not presented at the Hearing, unless the basis for the appeal is Discovery of New Evidence, in which case, the Respondent must attach a copy of the information or evidence as an exhibit(s) to the Petition Form and state the reason(s) why such information or evidence was not available to the Respondent at the time of the Hearing.
3. The Petition Form must not exceed five (5) double-spaced pages using 12-point font and one (1) inch margins, except for any exhibits.
V. Petition Response Form
A. The College Representative may respond to the Petition Form in writing by submitting a Petition Response Form to the Coordinator or designee and the Respondent within seven (7) Business Days of the date the Petition Form was sent to the College Representative.
B. The College Representative’s Petition Response Form shall include a concise and complete written statement, including the College’s position with regard to the Respondent’s appeal, the evidence presented during the Hearing that supports the opposition to the appeal, the reasons for the opposition to the appeal, and the College’s desired outcome.
C. The Petition Response Form must not exceed five (5) double-spaced pages using 12-point font and one (1) inch margins, except for any exhibits.
D. If a Petition Response Form is not submitted within the Deadline, the Response will not be considered on appeal, unless good cause is shown.
VI. Reply Form
A. If a Petition Response Form is submitted, the Respondent may respond to the Petition Response Form in writing by submitting a Reply Form to the Coordinator or designee and the College Representative within five (5) Business Days of the date the Petition Response Form was sent to the Respondent.
B. The Respondent’s Reply Form shall include a concise and complete written statement, responding to the information in the Petition Response Form and the reasons that the appeal should be granted.
C. The Reply Form must not exceed three (3) double-spaced pages using 12-point font and one (1) inch margins, except for any exhibits.
D. If a Reply is not submitted within the Deadline, the Reply will not be considered on appeal, unless good cause is shown.
VII. Appeal Officer
A. The Appeal Officer will be the VPL or designee.
1. The VPL may appoint a College employee or a third party who is not employed by the College to serve as the Appeal Officer.
2. If the VPL designates another individual to serve as the Appeal Officer, the VPL will provide written notice of the name of the individual designated to the Respondent, the College Representative, and the Coordinator or designee.
B. Objection to the Appeal Officer
1. If the Respondent objects to the Appeal Officer based on a perception of bias against the Respondent, the Respondent may submit an objection in writing to the Coordinator or designee within five (5) Business Days of the notice of the Appeal Officer being sent to the Respondent, including the reason(s) the Respondent believes the Appeal Officer is biased.
2. Knowledge of the allegations or the facts or a prior allegation of misconduct is not a sufficient basis to establish bias of the Appeal Officer.
a. The Appeal Officer may recuse themselves from an appeal if appropriate to do so and another Appeal Officer will be designated by the VPL. If the VPL recuses themselves, the College President will serve as the Appeal Officer.
b. An Appeal Officer may not consider an appeal if the Appeal Officer is a faculty member for a class in which the Respondent is currently or was previously enrolled.
3. The objection will be evaluated by the College President who shall determine whether there is sufficient information to show bias or that the Appeal Officer may not be able to be impartial in considering the allegations and if so, shall appoint another Appeal Officer.
4. The College President’s decision regarding the objection to the Appeal Officer is final and cannot be appealed or grieved.
VIII. Preliminary Review
A. Upon receipt of the Appeal Documents, the Appeal Officer will first consider whether there are grounds for dismissal, including:
1. Whether the Petition Form was filed in a timely manner;
2. Whether the Petition Form is based on one or more of the permitted grounds;
3. Whether the Decision included Disciplinary Sanctions that are subject to appeal; and
4. Whether the Petition Form meets the format specified in this Appeal Procedure.
B. If the Respondent submitted a Petition Form after the Deadline, the Appeal Officer will dismiss the Petition without consideration unless the Respondent can show good cause for failing to meet the Deadline.
1. If a Petition Form is submitted after the Deadline, the Respondent must provide a written justification to the Appeal Officer for failing to comply with the Deadline.
2. If the Appeal Officer determines that the Respondent has shown good cause for missing the Deadline, the Appeal Officer will notify the Respondent, the College Representative, and the Coordinator or designee in writing that the Petition Form will be considered.
C. If the Appeal Officer determines that another ground for dismissal applies, the Appeal Officer may dismiss the Petition without further consideration and will notify the Respondent, the College Representative, and the Coordinator or designee of the dismissal in writing.
D. If the Petition is not dismissed, the Coordinator or designee will send the Decision and the Record to the Appeal Officer for consideration.
E. If the Petition Response Form or Reply Form is submitted after the Deadline, the College Representative or Respondent must provide a written justification to the Appeal Officer for failing to comply with the Deadline.
1. If the Appeal Officer determines that the College Representative or Respondent has shown good cause for missing the Deadline, the Appeal Officer will notify the Respondent, the College Representative, and the Administrative Assistant or designee in writing that the Petition Response Form or Reply Form will be considered.
2. If the Respondent did not submit a Reply Form because the Petition Response Form was not submitted timely, the Appeal Officer will provide the Respondent with five (5) Business Days to submit a Reply Form, if one was not submitted.
II. Appeal Decision
A. The burden of proof on appeal lies with the Respondent, as the appealing party.
B. Upon consideration of the Decision, Appeal Documents, and the Record, the Appeal Officer will issue a written decision on the appeal by completing the Appeal Decision Form and will affirm, modify, or reverse the Decision.
C. For an appeal on the ground of Discovery of New Evidence, the Appeal Officer may send the Decision back to the original Hearing Board to conduct a new Hearing and consider the new evidence.
D. The Appeal Officer will send the Appeal Decision to the Coordinator or designee, the Respondent, the College Representative, the Faculty Member, and the Hearing Board via their College-issued email addresses within fifteen (15) Business Days from the date that the Decision and Record were sent to the Appeal Officer.
E. The Appeal Decision will be placed in the Respondent’s disciplinary record.
1. If the Decision is modified or reversed, the appropriate office(s) will be notified of the Appeal Decision and any changes the Sanction(s).
2. If necessary, the appropriate office(s) will remove any holds or placeholders on the Respondent’s account.
F. An Appeal Decision is final, unless the Decision is sent back to the Hearing Board for a new Hearing.
G. This Appeal Procedure constitutes the sole right to appeal and cannot be grieved under any other College Policy or Procedures.
Procedure Title: Procedures for Academic Misconduct Appeals
Policy Category: Academic Affairs
Policy Owner: Provost/Vice President of Learning
Policy Administrator: Associate Vice President of Learning and Academic Affairs
Contact Information: TBA
Approval Date: May 24, 2023
Effective Date: Aug. 26, 2023
History: N/A
Applies to: All College students and former students
Related Policies: Academic Integrity Policy
Related Procedures:
Forms/Guidelines:
Relevant Laws: N/A